Bad To The Belle
by Pretzhog
Summary: After being fed up with her sister's confining rules and demanding attitude, Sweetie Belle leaves the comforts of her home and Ponyville with her friend Cloudchaser to explore and find their place among Equestria. (NOTE: Rating might be tuned up a notch as the story goes on, also this takes place a few years in the future!)
1. Prologue

A peaceful night sleeping was the last thing on Rarity's list as Carousel Boutique shook violently from her younger sister's extreme music. The white unicorn tossed and turned in bed, earplugs wedged deeply in her ears to help fight the racket. Unfortunately they never did any good, plus sleeping on the earplugs wasn't comfortable either. It was time Rarity put her hoof down once again.

Sweetie Belle wasn't always a bad apple, it was a puzzle how her sister became such the ruffian she is today. Listening to loud, incomprehensible music, dressing with spikes, collars, chains... Even ridiculous make up! "_How did it get this far_?" Was a common question Rarity asked herself over and over. She did everything she could to make sure her sister was happy. However she couldn't always keep an eye on her, especially during school and when she went crusading with her friends... Or used to that is.

Applebloom and Scootaloo never stepped in the Boutique in years. It was a mane scratcher for the unicorn and her sister never gave her any answers for why they disappeared. She didn't ask Sweetie Belle at first when she began to notice her lack of friends, however Sweetie Belle never really wanted to talk about it when her sister started to ask. Luckily for Sweetie Belle, she was able to replace her ex-crusaders within a month or two. Though her new friends weren't Rarity's cup of tea... Far from it.

Rarity threw off the covers in an angry grumble, her face flushing in frustration. The only time the poor unicorn got any peace in bed was when her sister slipped out into the night. Words like 'grounded' and 'curfew' were foreign to the mischievous young mare. She was no stranger to a jail cell, granted she was only held there for a day or so until her big sister came to bail her out. Sweetie Belle's misdemeanors took a toll on Rarity's profits. If it wasn't for the rest of the Elements of Harmony helping her out, the two ponies would surely be out of house and home.

The enraged unicorn made no effort to repress her emotions as she stomped with every step to her sister's room. Pounding bass pedal beats covered up the sound of Rarity's rampage that was creeping closer to Sweetie Belle's room. Taking hold of the doorknob, Rarity twisted it a few times only to find out the door was jammed from the other side, refusing to budge an inch.

"Sweetie Belle! You open this door right this instant!" Rarity ordered as she began to bash her hoof against the door.

"Go buck yourself!" Her sister's voice was muffled behind the chaotic noise, though still audible. That comment made Rarity blush the very first time she heard it out of Sweetie Belle's mouth. Back then, the offense earned the filly, a slap in the face and a good mouth washing. It was a scarring experience for both of them. Rarity cried it out after locking Sweetie Belle in her room that day, though no apologies were spoken from either end afterwords. Today, those words only added fuel to Rarity's fire, nothing more was there to be lost in their relationship as sisters.

"I swear, if I have to get Applejack to break down this door, you'll be praying to Celestia I hadn't!" Rarity bluffed, knowing abuse against Sweetie Belle got her in trouble with the law before. If it was one family that was in and out of the police station the most, it was this one. Not to mention how much damage it did to the business with rumors and gossip going around Ponyville. Even Sweetie Belle blasting her music during the daytime hours hurt store business.

Responding to her sister's threat, Sweetie Belle cranked her music up louder, letting the stereo do the talking. It probably wouldn't be too much longer until the police stopped by from the citizens' complaints about noise pollution this late at night. Celestia help her if Rarity got another fine, she couldn't threaten her deadbeat sister with it because she never had a job, or a desire to get one.

"Ooooh! You'll regret this! Mark my words!" Rarity galloped off in a huff, on her way over to Sweet Apple Acres to get Applejack's assistance.


	2. ReBelleion

"Wow, Sweetie Belle, I still can't believe you continue put up with her, haven't you tried moving out or something?" A gray coated, blue maned pegasus tried to keep a straight face as she spoke over the music. The white unicorn turned down her stereo some before replying.

"Believe me, I have. There's just no where to stay, and I know your parents don't like me, Cloudchaser..."

"My parents don't like me either," Cloudchaser joked, a smile curling slightly on her lips.

"Heh..." Sweetie Belle tried to laugh, only ending with a sigh.

"Well if it hurts you too much to stay here, you could always run away... I'm sure your sister couldn't care less if she found you were gone. In fact, I think she'd like the idea if you ask me," the thought of it all didn't sit well with the unicorn.

"...I've thought about it," Sweetie Belle glanced out the barred window sheepishly.

"Well what's stopping you then?" Cloudchaser questioned.

"...I don't wanna talk about it," Sweetie Belle attempted to dodge the bullet.

"Oh come on, I'm your best friend Sweetie Belle, you can tell me anything!" The pegasus buttered her up for an answer.

"...You won't laugh?" She returned her gaze on Cloudchaser.

"I promise," she crossed her heart with a hoof.

"Um... I... I don't want to face the world on my own. Each day I imagine what freedom could be, but more often I think about all the dangers that could be lurking around every corner and alleyway..."

"Afraid? I never took you as the fearful type Sweetie Belle..." Cloudchaser sat there, slightly dumbfounded from her friend's response.

"Well I've seen how mean colts and stallions can be, especially at school. It's surprising how much they get away with everything," the unicorn's face fell into her hooves.

"Yeah, guys can get over their heads sometimes, but they're not all bad," Cloudchaser put a hoof around her friend's shoulder.

"Well what about your ex, didn't he cheat on you with another filly?" Her voice was muffled against her hooves.

"Yeah, but I'm over it and ready to start looking for another colt again," the pegasus patted Sweetie Belle on the back a bit.

"Oh..." Sweetie Belle replied burying her snout deeper.

"Didn't you have a crush on a special somepony?" Cloudchaser claimed to recall.

"N-no, not really," the thought of having a crush in the first place made the white unicorn's face turn red.

"Not even a fictional crush?" She nudged her friend's side some with an elbow.

"Well... Maybe, but what's that got to do with anything?" Sweetie Belle pulled her head back up, scowling a little at Cloudchaser.

"That's at least something," the pegasus only smiled.

"But that's not the point right now!" Sweetie Belle grumbled, causing Cloudchaser to hesitate a bit, "...I just don't want to leave this place alone..." she ended with a sigh.

"...Well if it matters that much to you, I'll go with you, how about that?" the pegasus offered.

"Really? You'd do that?" the unicorn replied in disbelief.

"Why not? Think about all the ponies we could meet, all the rock and metal shows we probably wouldn't be able to see otherwise, sneaking into bars, vandalizing city property..." Cloudchaser listed on more possibilities as excitement filled up in the unicorn's chest along with a small pang of guilt. Sweetie Belle assumed it would go away with time, but she couldn't help but hold her doubts about the escape.

"We'd have to change our identities too," Sweetie Belle added, "we're still minors, and I know more than likely Rarity will flip out when she finds that I'm gone. And when that happens, who knows how many fliers her and her stupid friends will make to post all over Equestria."

"True... I know a stallion that might be able to help us with that over in Manehatten, he specializes in tattoos, piercings, and dyes... Permanent dyes. Plus he's the one who gave me all my ear piercings," Cloudchaser played with one of the many metal loops that hung from her right ear.

"You do realize you'll have to ditch the earrings... Right?" Sweetie Belle gave her friend a bland look.

"And you'll need a new mane-do!" the pegasus ruffled around her friends mane playfully.

"Heeey! Stop it!" The unicorn flailed her arms, attacking Cloudchaser's hoof.

"Well sor-ree!" Cloudchaser withdrew with a laugh.

"Anyways, it's now or never I guess," Sweetie Belle readjusted her mane the best she could.

"Better think hard about what you wanna bring, cause you can't bring it all," both of them gazed among the mess in Sweetie Belle's room.

"I know, it's not like it's my first time I've made plans about running away..." Sweetie belle rolled her eyes. Cloudchaser went silent as she examined her friends room, causing a great concern to rile up in Sweetie Belle. "What are you doing?"

"Helping you pack up," the pegasus replied, pulling out a backpack from under the bed.

"Oh," Sweetie Belle winced at how much dust was on the backpack as Cloudchaser brushed it off a few times.

"I wouldn't waste much time with sentimental things either, we'll be making memories as we go anyways," Cloudchaser chuckled as she held out the backpack.

"I was only going to pack food and cash anyways," Sweetie Belle took the backpack, brushing it off a few more times to be safe, "Celestia, this thing hasn't seen the light of day in years..." She mumbled as she went for the door.

"It was the only bag I could find of yours on such short notice," Cloudchaser shrugged, following the unicorn out. The rest was silence, until they hit Rarity's room. Cloudchaser already had an assumption about why Sweetie Belle was trespassing on her sister's room.

"It's here somewhere..." The unicorn went from shelf to shelf to drawer, searching through her sister's belongings.

"Looking for something? I could help," Cloudchaser offered as she watched her friend move about.

"...Here it is!" Sweetie Belle cheered, pulling out a dark purse.

"Never mind..." Cloudchaser mumbled, seeing the unicorn had already found it. Sweetie Belle plunged a hoof inside the bag, fishing out all the bits she could find. The collected coins were piled up in a special pocket of her backpack.

"That takes care of our money issue, at least for a while," Sweetie Belle zipped up the pocket, securing her bits.

"Let's hurry to the kitchen and pack some food before your sister gets back," the pegasus pushed Sweetie Belle towards the room's exit.

"Okay, okay!" The unicorn shook off Cloudchaser's hooves, soon trotting towards the kitchen. Once inside, Sweetie Belle went straight for the canned food and ramen cups, it was the only food that wouldn't expire if it wasn't refrigerated.

"You know you gotta heat up ramen right? Unless you plan on bringing that microwave with I don't think you'll be enjoy that much," Cloudchaser pointed out dryly.

"I've had ramen without heating it up, you just at water and let it sit longer," Sweetie Belle rearranged the backpack, placing the cans in first, than the ramen cups, "sure it's not the best, but at least it's not hard and crunchy."

"I never bothered to try ramen that way, I'd probably end up wasting it anyways," Cloudchaser admitted, "also, you'll need a can opener for the other stuff."

"I know that! Geez," Sweetie Belle dropped her sorting and went over to a nearby drawer, digging out a can opener. Soon waving it in her friend's face.

"Hey, I'm just playing Sweetie Belle, no need to get worked up over it," the pegasus said with a few laughs.

"Still, I'm a little stressed out about running away and all," the unicorn slipped the can opener in a different pocket, zipping it shut shortly after.

"It's all good, I understand," Cloudchaser placed a hoof on Sweetie Belle's shoulder, reassuring her.

"Anyways...You wanna grab some sodas from the fridge?" The unicorn asked, redirecting the topic.

"Sure, I can do that," Cloudchaser headed for the refrigerator. Opening it, she was surprised to actually find it loaded with odds and ends and even odder smells. _Something's really rotting in here_... Cloudchaser thought, holding her breath as she searched out the soda from the mess inside.

A few moments passed as Sweetie Belle finished packing in the can foods. Cloudchaser returned, her hooves filled with sodas, "Here ya go," she did her best to not drop them as she held them out towards the unicorn.

"Thanks Cloudchaser," Sweetie Belle smiled, taking and packing the cans one by one.

"So you already now?" The pegasus asked.

"I think so... Oh wait! I forgot about my ipony!" Sweetie Belle rushed back into her room to collect her music player. The frantic unicorn wasted no time finding that and a pair of ear buds to go with it.

"You forgot your charger too," Cloudchaser pointed out as Sweetie Belle returned, causing her to growl in frustration as she went back to go find the ipony charger as well.

"There..." The unicorn came back to the kitchen, dropping the ipony bundle into another backpack pocket, "now I'm ready," she double checked the backpack to make sure all the slots were zipped up.

"Next stop, my room!" Cloudchaser exclaimed as Sweetie Belle took a deep breath in and out before hauling her new life on her back.


	3. InvisiBelle

"Just wait down here," Cloudchaser said as she took into the air towards her parent's cloud home, "I'll be back in a few minutes," Sweetie Belle kept forgetting the fact that Cloudchaser lived in Cloudsdale, so she never really got to visit the pegasus at her own home.

The unicorn sat down, already feeling the pain in her shoulders from her baggage. She tried to fight off the feelings of regret, holding on to the hope that this escape would benefit her somehow. Needing to lay down, Sweetie Belle slipped her arms from the bag loops. This was probably going to be the last time she would be able to rest for awhile. _Nothing like a few deep breaths to clear the mind_ The unicorn sighed slowly, inspecting the starry sky.

The story of Nightmare moon came to mind as Sweetie Belle continued to gaze into the stars. However Luna rebelled because she was an attention horse, the unicorn understood that completely. This rebellion was for freedom... Freedom with the guarantee of safety at least. Finding her destination in Equestira seemed like a needle in a haystack at this point. One thing was for certain though, it wasn't with Rarity.

"Thanks again Applejack, I haven't have the slightest idea what I would do if you hadn't come by!" Rarity led Applejack into her home. She was growing more unemotionally stable from the lack of sleep, her bedhead and ruffled coat showed it as well.

"Jus' calm down now, we'll have this all sorted out before ya know it," Applejack tried to keep her cool. Rarity was losing it and just seeing her like this was slowly draining the earth pony. Rarity kept close to Applejack as she led the way to Sweetie Belle's room. Being there to help time and time again, Applejack probably knew more of the lay out of Carousel Boutique than Rarity did. "It's awfully quiet..." Applejack mentioned as they pressed forward, "Y'all sure you just didn't dream this?"

"I'm certain!" Rarity replied as they approached the door. Rarity knocked a few times, "Sweetie Belle? Dear? ...Are you alright?" ...No response. Rarity tried the door, surprisingly, the door gave way. The unicorn gasped as there was no sign of life.

_Oh boy, here were go_, Applejack rolled her eyes, expecting Rarity to panic.

"Where are you Sweetie Belle?" Rarity turned around, calling into the hallway. Still no answer. "Oh no-oh no-oh no," she chew on her hoof, overwhelmed with worry about the whereabouts of her sister.

"Deep breaths surgarcube," Applejack stroked the back of the unicorn's neck, hoping to ease her troubled mind.

"This can't be happening! Sweetie Belle!" Rarity ran around the boutique, searching harder for her flesh and blood as she called her name. Her fruitless search directed her back to Sweetie Belle's room. Hopelessness and fear filled Rarity as she gazed through the barred window, taking a seat on the bed.

"Ah'm sure she couldn't've gotten far..." Applejack tried her best to be supportive. Silence filled the room as tears fell from Rarity's eyes. "There there, look, we'll round up the girls n' go out on a search party?"

Rarity only hid her face in her hooves, leaving Applejack speechless and uncomfortable. _Come on now... Think AJ, there's gotta be something else who can help... Oh ah know_! The earth pony came up with an idea.

"We could go to canterlot and get the princess to help us out! She's got a whole army that could search for yer sister!"

"...You don't get it do you?" Rarity replied bitterly.

"...Get what now?" The earth pony scratched her mane, wondering what Rarity was going on about this time.

"This is all _my_ fault!" Rarity cried, sobbing as the guilt ate at her.

"No it's not, Sweetie Belle's just not behaving like a filly her age should be," Applejack sat next to her friend, consoling her with a gentle stroke against her back.

"Nooo!" Rarity wasn't convinced, "I've been a terrible sister all this time, Sweetie Belle hates me more than ever now!" The unicorn continued to bawl.

"That's not it at all! Sweetie Belle just needs some good 'ol fashion discipline! ...Look, if 'n when we find her, ah'll let her stay at the farm for a few weeks, that ought'a set things straight," The earth pony suggested.

"Noo! She'll just hate me mooore!" Rarity whined as she grabbed a pillow to weep into.

"No she won't sugarcube, trust me," Applejack tried her best to console her friend. After a few more minutes of continuous sobbing, the earth pony thought it was best to let Rarity cry this one out, she would probably feel a bit more better once she slept her sorrow off. "Ah'm gonna get going, gotta make sure Granny Smith isn't doin' anything she shouldn't," even though Granny Smith was becoming mentally ill, Applejack used it as an excuse to duck out.

Rarity still remained in tears...

* * *

"Sorry," Cloudchaser began as she made her landing, "didn't expect me to take me that long," Sweetie Belle picked herself up from the ground.

"It's alright, the stars kept me busy for awhile," the unicorn chuckled lightly as she gathered up her luggage, "...So where to now?"

"Manehatten of course, where else are we gonna change our identities?" The pegasus replied, removing her piercings and storing them in her bag.

"Oh yeah... So who's this colt again?" Sweetie Belle asked as the two began their journey.

"Him? His name's Pierce, Pokey Pierce to be exact, kind of ironic when you think about it..." Cloudchaser giggled a bit.

"...Never heard of him," Sweetie Belle shrugged.

"He's a nice guy once you get to know him," the pegasus added.

"So is he going to do this all for free?"

"Oh no, that'd be too big of a loss for him, we'll probably have to work it off or something, don't worry, we won't be doing any tattoo or piercing work, just a bunch of cleaning and sanitation work," Cloudchaser spoke with a smile.

"How can you be so sure?" Sweetie Belle was still apprehensive.

"It's how I paid off these babies," the pegasus pointed at the holes in her ears with a hoof.

"Okay... Has he ever let you practice, you know, the dirty work?"

"The most he let me do was my own piercing once. And let me tell you, I make a horrible piercer. There was a lot of blood to clean up," Cloudchaser laughed as she reminisced.

"Eww..." Sweetie Belle shook the image from her head, realizing it was the main reason she wouldn't get any piercings. Too much pain, and the risk of infections. Thank Celestia for clip-on earrings.

"Yeah, I've got pics of it on my Facehoof profile," Cloudchaser boasted.

"Why would you have pictures of that stuff anyways?" Sweetie Belle replied as if her friend was nuts.

"Just cause," It didn't take a hardcore detective to figure out Cloudchaser was a total photo horse.

"Whatever..." Sweetie Belle never understood photo horses, "anyways, how do we plan on getting to Manehatten? You'd be crazy to think we'd walk the whole way there!"

"You thought we were going to walk there?" the pegasus placed a hoof over her mouth, trying not to laugh.

"So? It's not like we have a vehicles or a train ticket, or anything that'd help us out!" The unicorn replied defensively.

"That's where you're wrong Sweetie Belle," Cloudchaser held down her hilarity.

"Hm? How?" The unicorn was confused.

"We'll be sneaking onto a cargo train, homeless ponies do it all the time."

"Seriously, do you just pull this stuff outta your plot or something?" Sweetie Belle didn't like the idea of train hopping.

"Don't knock it 'till you've tried it, sure I've heard the company there might not be the best, but anything's worth a free ride," Cloudchaser explained as Sweetie Belle pictured a bunch of smelly, rough coated ponies smuggled inside a boxcar.

"I just hope nopony starts begging for things, if I even catch anypony even eyeing up my backpack, I'll haul them off the train myself," Sweetie Belle grumbled, still not convinced.

"Don't worry about it, most of these guys are even too poor to own a legit weapon. Besides, a friend of mine says everypony he met while fright-hopping was really nice," Cloudchaser tried to calm her friend's fear.

"And who's the smart-flank who told you that?" Sweetie Belle countered.

"Featherweight," the pegasus replied normally.

"You mean that photography nut? Why would he be riding with hobo's anyways?" Sweetie Belle couldn't wrap her mind around it. Featherweight had a loving family and money, why would he stoop as low as illegally boarding a freight?

"It was for a documentary he and a few other pony were doing at the time," Cloudchaser clarified.

"...Oh, okay... Uh, how'd it go, was it a success?" Sweetie Belle felt awkward.

"Never found out, he transferred schools and never bothered to keep touch."

"Alright... It's not that important anyways," Sweetie Belle's hooves began to grow sore with each step.

"Anyways, were almost there," Cloudchaser tried to keep morale up.

"Good, I'm tired of walking in the dark," the unicorn squinted at the streetlights of Ponyville in the distance.


	4. Belle Hop

Orange lights glimmered over the train station, giving the area a comfortable, yet eerie atmosphere. Sweetie Belle admired the night lights of Ponyville or in any area of that matter. It's what made sneaking out of the boutique and curfew fines worth it.

It's a beautiful night to get lost in... Sweetie Belle stood and gazed for awhile, mesmerized by the scenery.

"... Earth to Sweetie Belle!" Cloudchaser waved a hoof in front of the unicorn's face.

"Hey!" Sweetie Belle recoiled, knocking Cloudchaser's arm away.

"We should hurry if we want to be lucky, this train looks like it's about to leave," the pegasus pointed out, soon pulling her friend over by the arm.

"Okay, okay! Geez..." the unicorn grumbled, frustrated with Cloudchaser.

"Shhh! You don't want us to get caught do you?" Cloudchaser stopped, glaring back.

"...No," Sweetie Belle sighed, trying to clear her angry mind.

"Good, now lets get going," she let go of Sweetie Belle's arm as they continued onwards towards the train. An exhaust of smoke squealed from the train as it began to crawl along the tracks. "Oh hay no!" Cloudchaser picked up the pace, Sweetie Belle following suit.

"Hey you're not supposed to be here!" A worker spotted them, wasting no time blowing his whistle to alert the other ponies.

"And bad just got worse..." Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, both fillies hauling plot.

"If we can just reach that door," Cloudchaser motioned with her head, one of the cargo load's door was wide open. Sweetie Belle glanced back to see a small mob of provoked workers chasing them. Every hope of escape dwindled as the train picked up speed.

"Why did I pack so much stuff?" Sweetie Belle groaned, feeling the regret already.

"Come on Sweetie Belle, we're almost there," the pegasus pushed the unicorn to keep going.

"My legs are going to fall off!" The unicorn's face scrunched up in pain. Once close enough, the fillies swerved over, now side by side with the train. Unfortunately, their pursuers still kept up with them.

"I know this is a bad time, but can't you use your unicorn magic to keep those guys off of us?" Cloudchaser's wear began to show in her voice.

"I... I don't know!" Sweetie Belle wheezed, almost in tears.

"Just try something, anything!" The pegasus yelled. Sweetie Belle began to focus her energy into her horn, still keeping pace with her friend. A growl escaped from her lips as she tried to push all the magic she could from her horn. It resulted in a wave a sound shaking her surroundings. Sweetie Belle was immune to it, but the agonizing noise of amp feedback caused Cloudchaser to flinch, nearly losing her footing. "I didn't mean like that! Ahh!" Cloudchaser began to speak when a pair of hooves sucked her into the train.

"Cloudchaser?" Sweetie Belle glanced behind, wondering if her friend tripped in fell. She could only see a pile of the train works, heads dazed from her magic. "Eek!" The same pair of hooves grabbed the unicorn as well, pulling her inside.

"Put me down!" Sweetie Belle struggled against her captor.

"Hey now! Don't be 'fraid," the stranger spoke, releasing the unicorn. Sweetie Belle's eyes had to adjust to the candle lights that lit the place up. "I noticed you two fillies were trying to hitch a ride, so ah thought ah'd lend ya a hoof!" His country accent was almost as strong as Applejack's.

Sweetie Belle regained her footing with the motion of the train taking over. She wiped her eyes, letting them take in the sights, still trying to focus. "Who are you?" Sweetie Belle squinted at the colt, hoping the image would saturate.

"My name's Golden Delicious, but y'all can call me Golden," he shook the unicorn's hoof with much force. The rapid motion somehow fixed Sweetie Belle's vision, she could pick out his black mane and brown coat.

"Uhh, I'm Sweetie Belle," she replied, caught off guard by Golden's enthusiasm.

"Sweetie Belle? ...Aren't you the sister of that one fashion designer, wat'zer name?" Golden tapped his hoof on his chin, staring at the ceiling in wonder.

"Uh..." The unicorn had no idea whether to lie or not, "you might have me mixed up with someone else," Sweetie Belle didn't want to run the risk of being found out, specially after getting this far.

"Well sorry for assumin' miss Belle," Golden's cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"...Where's Cloudchaser?" Sweetie Belle searched frantically, soon finding her on the floor, passed out.

"You mean yer friend here? She's alright, just passed out is all," the stallion replied, scratching at his mane.

"Cloudchaser, wake up," Sweetie Belle tapped the pegasus on the face a few times with an intent to wake her up.

"Nhhh, Just five more minutes," Cloudchaser uttered lowly, clearly tired.

"Fine, whatever..." Sweetie Belle mumbled, knowing it'd be best to just let the pegasus rest up.

"So you fillies headed to Manehatten too?" Golden asked as the unicorn took a seat next to Cloudchaser.

"...Yeah, why?" Sweetie Belle grew suspicious of the stallions curiosity.

"Ah'm headed there too, paying my cousin Red Gala a visit cause I haven't seen her in awhile... If yer not busy, maybe you'd wanna tag along?" Golden suggested.

"No offense, but I just met you, what makes you think I'd want to visit your cousin?" Sweetie Belle eyed the stallion over, unsure of his motives.

"S'okay, was just askin' is all, usually travelin' ponies like yer'selves have nothing to do, just wanna see all of Equestria," The stallion shrugged.

"Well Cloudchaser and I will be extremely busy when we reach Manehatten," the unicorn wanted nothing to do with Golden's plans.

"Well alrighty then," Golden took the hint that his company wasn't wanted, "anyways, you should probably get some rest too, we've still got a loads way to go until we hit Manehatten," Golden took his candle off of one of the resting boxes and trotted off into another cargo load. Darkness soon settled in.

"I'll sleep when I want to..." Sweetie Belle grumbled under her breath. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, the unicorn slipped out of her back. _He could have left the buckin' light here at least..._ Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, knowing it was time for another dose of magic.

Concentrating her energy, Sweetie Belle used what was leftover from her last stunt to ignite her horn. _Come on... Come on..._ The unicorn's stress levels began to rise as she strained herself for some light. After a few attempts, Sweetie Belle opened her eyes with an fatigued sigh. A sense of relief poured in as a green glow outlined her surroundings.

"Finally," Sweetie Belle whispered as she pulled her backpack onto her lap. Knowing her light wouldn't last long, the unicorn dug for her ipony. Blind hooves did no good sifting through food and drinks. "Almost... Got it..." She could feel it on the tip of her hoof, just a bit more deeper and she'd claim her ipony for sure. A few moments of determined labor and awkward grunts was the price to pay for her prize.

"You're mine now!" Sweetie Belle smirked, plucking out the object. "...Wait a minute, this isn't my ipony," she examined it closely, "what was this doing in the backpack?" The unicorn gawked at what she thought was her ipony. Upon closer inspection, the iphony turned out to be a pretty thick pocket notebook.

The front cover was doodled over with multiple girly colors. At least the green tint of Sweetie Belle's light was able to dull most of the flamboyant colors, sparing her the headache. Her interests still perked, Sweetie Belle decided to check out the first page. Taking a deep breath, the unicorn braced herself for some reading.

_Today was indescribable! I was totally expecting Diamond Tiara's party to be a complete pain in the flank! Her and her stupid friend Silver Spoon have been bulling any foal who doesn't have a cutie mark_!

Sweetie Belle eventually recognized that she was reading her diary that she kept back in elementary school. The unicorn sighed and hid her face behind a hoof, contemplating whether or not to read on. Unable to connect the dots from the past together, Sweetie Belle trudged onwards hesitantly.

..._Well I guess if it wasn't for her, Scootaloo and I wouldn't have met Applebloom, she's another blank flank that was in my school. It's a mystery that it took me this long to notice_.

"Tch, Applebloom..." Fond memories of the earth pony were all dead. Sure, the Cutie Mark Cursaders was a little gimmick that gave them all something to do, but only benefited Scootaloo and Applebloom in the end. With two Cursaders retired with their cutie marks, Sweetie Belle was a team of one, no pony to help with her cutie mark.

Eventually she gave up with even trying to find her passion, fell into questionable pony groups, became antisocial towards her sister, and even did things that would make her blush if she found out...

_Anyways, after we told them off, Scootaloo and I sat down with Applebloom and had a deep conversation between blank flanks. We even created a group for ourselves! From now on I'm a Cutie Mark Crusader! And together we'll find out who we truly are! Our first crusade will be tomorrow after school, and I can't wait! It's going to be so fun_!

Sweetie Belle wished she could travel back in time and slap the deceptive illusion of the Cutie Mark Crusader dream out of her past self. But right now all she could settle with right now is crossing out everypony's name and replacing them with provocative insults. Time spent defacing the page didn't last long as the vengeful unicorn grew weary.

Yawning, Sweetie Belle put the journal away and cuddled up against her backpack. It wasn't the perfect pillow, but it worked better than the boxes that surrounded them.

"Good night Cloudchaser," Sweetie Belle murmured in a sleepy haze.


	5. Sweetie Dreams

Sweetie Belle slept like a rock, snoring shamelessly as she drooled over her backpack. However the scenario that was playing out in her head depicted a different story...

The unicorn found herself back inside the clubhouse where crusader meetings would be held near daily. Her surroundings seemed bigger than usual, unaware that the she was living a past event in her fillyhood. She waited eagerly for her fellow crusaders wondering what their next odd job or quest would be today.

Becoming impatient, Sweetie Belle trotted over to the window and gazed outside over Sweet Apple Acres. Celestia's sun blazed brightly in the sky as it sunk closer to the horizon. Cheerliee didn't give out any homework today, so the unicorn was puzzled with what kept her friends from showing up on time.

_Were we even supposed to meet today? Did I hear wrong? Or is this some kind of prank they're setting me up for_? Doubt and paranoia began to settle in as Sweetie Belle began pacing around. It didn't take long for it all to turn into boredom as the minutes felt like hours.

In the middle of her despair, the door flung open, crashing against the wall with it's force. The stunt nearly scared the mess out of Sweetie Belle as she shrieked, jumping back from the door.

"Ah'm sorry Sweetie Belle... Ah tried to get here as fast as ah could... But Applejack put me to work again," Applebloom welcomed herself inside with a breathy apology.

"Don't barge in like that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Sweetie Belle was planted again the wall, holding a hoof over her chest, trying to calm her pounding heart.

"Ah'm sorry, ah'm sorry! Ah didn't wanna waste time with lookin' for the key," Applebloom glanced back at the door, seeing that the door was only hanging on one hinge now, "...Ah'll fix it later,"

"Uh... Anyways, what are we doing for crusading today?" The unicorn asked, pulling herself to her hooves.

"Umm, about that..." Applebloom's gaze bounced from object to object.

"Yeah?" Sweetie Belle drew closer as Applebloom backed away cautiously.

"Ah kinda have different plans for today..." The earth pony kept withdrawing from Sweetie Belle.

"Well, okay..." Sweetie Belle stopped in her tracks wondering why Applebloom was hesitating.

"And the other days too..." Applebloom began to sweat as she was beating around the bush.

"Oh, well how come?" Sweetie Belle started towards the earth pony again, knowing clearly that something was the matter.

"Uh... You promise you won't get mad at me?"Applebloom's rear hit the corner of the clubhouse. With nowhere to run, the young filly sat down against the wall, trying to hide something from her friend.

"Why would I get mad? You can tell me," Sweetie Belle scratched at her mane, slightly unsure if she really wanted to hear what Applebloom had to say.

"...Ah kinda got my cutie mark..." The earth pony exposed a flank to Sweetie Belle as she turned her face away to brace for rejection.

"Oh!..." Sweetie Belle was left speechless for a few moments, eying up what was an apple lying in what looked like flower petals, "that's... Amazing Applebloom, congratulations..." The unicorn tried to sound supportive, but deep down, she felt crushed. Sweetie Belle had imagined they would all find their cutie marks at the same time, she wasn't prepared for this at all.

"Ah'm sorry Sweetie Belle, it just happened one day out on the farm..." Applebloom began to explain, "Applejack says ah have a green hoof... Whatever that means."

"Does... Does this mean you won't be showing up to the crusader meetings anymore?" Sweetie Belle feared the answer.

"Ah'm afraid so... Applejack's puttin' me to work full time now with planting and nurturin' seeds," Applebloom stood back up.

"...I see," Sweetie Belle glanced away, feeling awkward and depressed.

"Anyways, ah need to get back to work, my break's almost over," the earth filly headed for the door, turning back to speak again, "...Ah just hope you and Scootaloo can crusade without me, Ah feel so bad about leavin' y'all..."

Sweetie Belle remained silent as Applebloom took her leave. It felt as if the unicorn lost a family member. It took a few nights of crying for the pain to pass. Scootaloo took the news a bit easier than Sweetie Belle had. The two still held meetings and gone crusading, but it took some adjusting to get used to Applebloom's absence.

Both went as far as to search for a fill-in to replace the earth pony's place. But no pony really stuck around long enough to establish a real bond. Eventually the decision drew closer to just disbanding the crusaders altogether as no progress was being made. The clubhouse showed signs of decay, as Applebloom was never around to keep it in shape anymore. Depression began to slip into Sweetie Belle's life as her grades began slipping. Her friendship with Scootaloo faded as the crusaders called it quits without a word.

...Sweetie Belle woke up with her face moistened with saliva and tears. It was just another night of bad dreams.

"Disgusting..." The unicorn muttered, pulling her face away as a string of drool connected her cheek to her backpack. Sweetie Belle wasted no time cutting it off, wiping her face off with her arm. The tragedy of the Cutie Mark Crusaders still lingered in the young mares mind as she pulled herself against a crate, huddling her knees against her chest. Tears began to water up in her eyes as she resisted the urge to cry.

"Why did it have to end like that...?" Feelings of regret and remorse welled up in her heart, making it difficult to breathe. Sweetie Belle reached around for her backpack in the darkness, longing for some comfort food. In no mood to force another light, the unicorn plunged a hoof blindly into the bag, picking out whatever came first to her hoof. Resistance weakened as she quietly whimpered, pulling out a food can. A mix of emotions overtook the grieving unicorn as she grabbed the can opener.

A snap and a hiss caused Cloudchaser's ear to twitch as Sweetie Belle twisted the can open. A chain of frustrated mumbles came from Sweetie Belle as she realized she packed no spoons. She had no choice but to eat her food straight from the can. Her weeping was only broken to feed herself every few seconds.

"...You okay Sweetie Belle?" Cloudchaser whispered, shocking Sweetie Belle into silence, "...You've been crying all night, what's wrong?" The pegasus yawned as she pulled herself up to her knees.

The embarrassed unicorn couldn't bring herself to speak. She never spoke about her crusader days to Cloudchaser. Those memories dug themselves out from the grave to haunt Sweetie Belle from time to time. All they brought were unwanted sorrow and a longing for the past.

"...Don't tell me you're homesick already," Cloudchaser joked, hoping to get Sweetie Belle to laugh.

"N-no..." Sweetie Belle placed her food on the floor, instead drawing up her tail for a cuddle companion. Cloudchaser was just as blind as her right now, the unicorn was thankful for the darkness.

"Well what is it then?" Cloudchaser begain to search for her friend by the sound of her voice.

"...J-just a bad dream, t-that's all," Sweetie Belle tightened her grip on her tail.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Cloudchaser crawled carefully, inching her way towards the unicorn.

"N-not really," Sweetie Belle shook her head.

"You sure? We can't just show up at Pierce's with you crying a river, come on now..."

"I-I can deal with my own problems!" Sweetie Belle became defensive.

"Sweetie Belle... Oof!" Cloudchaser accidentally butted heads with Sweetie Belle. The force caused Sweetie Belle's horn to light up again, exposing her insecurities to Cloudchaser. This didn't stop the unicorn from hiding her face behind her tail. Sore from the collision, Cloudchaser rubbed her head before glancing over at Sweetie Belle.

"...Come on now, this isn't the Sweetie Belle I know..." The pegasus scooted closer, "the Sweetie Belle I know wouldn't stupid emotions like sadness eat her up," then again, Cloudchaser never seen Sweetie Belle cry. The only pony who's lived to see and hear the unicorn cry was Rarity.

"I-I said I'd deal with it!" Sweetie Belle retorted bitterly.

"Sounds more like you're living with it, come on Sweetie Belle, I want to help you," Cloudchaser was now nearly shoulder to shoulder with the unicorn.

Sweetie Belle was silent, Cloudchaser was right, her problems were never dealt with at all.

"You won't laugh at me if I tell you?" Sweetie Belle still kept behind her tail.

"Sweetie Belle, I've known you for years. And as a friend, why would I laugh at the things that are hurting you?" The pegasus attempted to part Sweetie Belle's tail.

"...You sure," Sweetie Belle was still hesitant if she could really trust Cloudchaser.

"I'm sure," Cloudchaser peeled her tail down slowly, Sweetie Belle didn't resist as her red, tear soaked face was uncovered. Her wet eyes opened up to see Cloudchaser's gazing into hers. In that moment, Sweetie Belle lunged out at Cloudchaser, arms open for embrace. "Whoooa!" The force of the unicorn's tackle almost knocked the pegasus backwards. Despite being caught of guard, Cloudchaser returned her embrace just the same.

Sweetie Belle wiped away her tears as they released each other, she was feeling a tad bit stronger, ready to admit what was bugging her the most.

"I miss them..." Sweetie Belle snorted the snot back up her nose as she kept herself together.

"Miss who? I thought you weren't homesick?" Cloudchaser was thrown in a loop.

"Applebloom, Scootaloo, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders... I know I've talked down about it all these years. But the truth is, I miss those days... But at the same time, I feel cheated out on cause I was the one who got my cutie mark last and alone..." Sweetie Belle explained. "Back when I was in the Cutie Mark Crusaders, it felt like those days would last forever, as if the group itself was our cutie mark, and to be honest, I would be completely fine with that..." The unicorn sighed, holding back the tears once again.

"I know exactly how you feel Sweetie Belle," Cloudchaser's response caused Sweetie Belle's jaw to drop, those were the last words the unicorn expected to hear.

"Y-you do?" Sweetie Belle stared back, wide eyed.

"Yes, I really do. Back in elementary school, I used to have a best friend I'd always hang out with, she was a pegasus named Flitter. We were inseparable most of the time, and sleepovers were almost every day. But just like you, that friendship didn't last forever... Flitter ended up hanging around the wrong crowd, the preppy crowd, when middle school started ending... And soon their influence had sunken into her way of thinking. She began picking on those that weren't like her and her little buddies."

"That's gotta hurt," Sweetie Belle cringed.

"And that's not even the worst part, she hung out with me less and less as we transitioned into highschool, and each time I questioned her about lifestyle, she'd told me not to worry about it... And if that wasn't bad enough, she stopped talking to me the instant rumors about me started spreading." Gossip wasn't just Cloudchaser's problem either, Sweetie Belle had also gotten some heat from nasty chit chat around the school, mostly because the way she was dressed.

"And after that started, other ponies kept calling me pretty horrible things, then came the threats as well as attacks... I almost got raped once too. All because I lost my best friend," Cloudchaser's gaze fell to the floor.

_And I thought I had it bad... She nearly got raped_! Sweetie Belle sympathized as she was speechless for a moment. "I... I guess we have more in common than I thought..." Her lips curled a little, thankful she came clean about her past.

"Yeah... I'm glad we had this talk," the pegasus admitted. "I was just too afraid to tell you before because I thought you'd think I didn't treasure our friendship over the past. Honestly, I couldn't be more thankful to have you as my friend Sweetie Belle, but I just can't help thinking of what could have been... You know?" Cloudchaser felt awkward.

"Don't worry, I have those thoughts all the time," Sweetie Belle chuckled, not feeling guilty about her longing for the past anymore.

"Still, can't change the past, might as well make best of what we can right now, right?" Cloudchaser shrugged.

"Yeah... We're starting fresh now, once we hit Manehatten, we'll be making history that we'll actually enjoy," Sweetie Belle leaned back on the box, already letting her mind wander.

"Definitely," Cloudchaser nodded with a yawn, "...Dunno about you, but I'm still tired, so I'm gonna go back to sleep," the pegasus crawled back to her backpack.

"Okay, I might too in a bit," Sweetie Belle glanced over at her own backpack, wondering if she read more of her old journal.

"G'night," Cloudchaser curled up against her backpack.

"Night..." The unicorn lowered her voice slightly. A few moments passed before Sweetie Belle leaned over to grab her diary.

_Ugh, gross,_ Her backpack was still drenched with her drool and tears. She held her breath and grit her teeth as she fished out her journal. An exhale of relief passed through her lips as she drew out her journal. Before cracking it open, Sweetie Belle wiped her hoof off on her tail. The light on her head began to dim, letting her know time was running short before her horn needed a recharge.

Seriously? Sweetie Belle groaned, hurrying as she tore open the book. Flipping past the first entry, the next one depicted her first first crusade with the gang. Knowing her horn light wouldn't last much longer, she paged through to an empty sheet. "Umm..." She thought over what to write down for a moment.

_Well it's been awhile_,

She pushed out some more magic juice to record her thoughts on the paper.

_And I might not be a crusader anymore, but it doesn't stop me from having an adventure. Right at this moment, me and my friend Cloudchaser are on a train right now heading towards Manehatten. She says she's got a friend who'll help us out once we get there, Prody Pierce or something like that. He supposedly owns a tattoo and piercing shop. To be honest, I wouldn't mind getting a tattoo... Or two. I'm just afraid of the pain... Anyways, light's getting dim and I should probably getting some sleep right now_

_-Sweetie Belle_


	6. Bittersweetie Memories

Rarity felt like she'd been hit by a truck as she opened her damp eyes. Feeling around, she found herself on the floor of the main room of the boutique, an empty bottle of alcohol in her hoof. Her face was stained with tears and her coat reeking of drinks and sweat. Drawing herself up into a fetal position, Rarity felt fear and confusion flood into her mind. She shivered as she wondered how she ended up on the floor in the first place.

The panicking unicorn soon recalled the disappearance of Sweetie Belle, which didn't help the current situation at all. All desire to work her shop today had left her. If things weren't broken before, they were now.

A quiet knock rapped on the front door, catching Rarity's attention. There wasn't a single urge to answer it. What was the point of working if her emotional wounds would never heal. Apathetic, Rarity remained on the floor, soaking in last nights trauma.

"Rarity, are you home? It's me Twilight," a voice spoke, muffled behind the door. Rarity, still didn't budge. As far as she was concerned, the number one thing she wanted to do today was rot.

"Rarity!" Twilight shouted after bashing a bit harder, "I'm coming in!" Twilight exclaimed as Rarity remained unfazed. A purple glow surrounded the door as lock clicked as it unlatched. Rarity hid her eyes behind her hoof as the light poured in. Twilight's silhouette crept forward, inch by inch.

"Rarity!" Twilight gasped, spotting the unicorn on the floor, "What happened, you're a mess!" _Or at least more of a mess than usual_, Twilight rushed to Rarity's side.

The scarred unicorn refused to speak, but she didn't fight when Twilight helped her up.

"Did somepony break in earlier?" Twilight asked, leading Rarity to a nearby couch for her to sit on.

"...No," A weak murmur came from Rarity's lips as she kept her gaze to the floor.

"If it wasn't a burglar, then what was it?" Twilight delved deeper.

"...Nothing," Rarity uttered back.

"Well... That's a relief, I guess," Twilight decided to stop prodding, "anyways, Applejack stopped by and told me what happened with Sweetie Belle," she turned to dig through her satchel, pulling out a stack of papers. "So I took the time to print of some fliers! They're all ready to be posted over Ponyville!" Twilight smiled at her achievement.

"Don't bother..." Rarity hiccuped, feeling the hangover of yesterday settle in.

"Huh?" Twilight's jaw dropped, "w-what do you mean 'don't bother'?"

"Sweetie Belle wouldn't even stay even if you brought her back to me..." The broken unicorn snorted, snot welled up in her nostrils.

"Applejack told me she would take Sweetie Belle in for awhile, saying something along the lines of 'teachin' her good manners'," She recited with a lousy Applejack impersonation.

"What good will that do? She's already lost," Rarity was convinced Sweetie Belle hated her guts and nothing could restore their relationship.

"Don't say that, I'm sure the princess would gladly help out with our search! There's still a chance to make amends with your sister!" Twilight continued to push hope onto Rarity.

"Not even Princess Celestia could change Sweetie Belle's mind," the white unicorn teared up.

"Well what do _you_ want Rarity?" Twilight got a tad frustrated. Rarity sighed before turning silent for a few moments, knowing exactly what she wanted...

"...Sweetie Belle," her face fell into her hooves as she began to sob.

"It's okay," Twilight rubbed her back some with a few pats, "I'm sure we can find Sweetie Belle, did you want to be the one to write a letter to the Princess?" Twilight asked as a quill and paper materialized in mid air, floating next to Rarity.

There wasn't any reply from the mourning unicorn. Retracting the pen and paper, Twilight began to feel a little awkward from Rarity's drama. But lately it hasn't been over the typical petty things since Sweetie Belle came to live with Rarity permanently. Reasons why were usually classified as an accident that Rarity wouldn't speak of whether in public or private. Twilight was curious to know what this accident was... Almost enough to prod into Rarity's mind with magic, but that turned into another lesson to write to the princess.

With questions unanswered, Twilight couldn't help but feel out of place. If only she knew, she could have some kind of lead to help out Rarity. But Twilight still had to battle with the morals of it all. Is it really worth it, the purple unicorn waged reasons back and forth throughout her mind. Both sides of morality nagged at her, convincing that their side was right. Each thought fueling her curiosity until she couldn't take it anymore.

Twilight tried to be discreet as possible as she poked into Rarity's brain, the white unicorn oblivious to what was happening, consumed in her sadness. Feeling a recoil of Rarity emotions, Twilight moved about carefully as she explored the unicorn's mind. However, she couldn't stay there long as Rarity's emotions began to seep into Twilight's own.

Pain welled up in Twilight's chest and stomach, feelings of sadness, bitterness, conflict and uncertainty were identified immediately. If she spent another minute longer in Rarity's thoughts she would turn into a bawling foal as well. That memory had to be there somewhere... Just somewhere.

Suddenly, it just clicked. Twilight retrieved a glimpse of what she was looking for a backed off. Relief overtook the unicorn as she leaned back on the couch, taking a few deep breaths in and out. Luckily Rarity was still too busy with her own problems to notice what Twilight was up to. The key memory almost eluded Twilight's mind as she tried to keep hold of it and keep herself calm at the same time. She picked up the pen and paper again, but instead of writing a letter to Princess Celestia, she wrote down her findings.

_Rarity's parents had passed away and Sweetie Belle moved in with her permanently_. She was finally able to let the memory go as she rolled up the scroll, placing it in her satchel. Twilight didn't want to elaborate on her discovery just yet, those things were better left back at the library.

"Umm... Well just think about it Rarity, if you don't want to write the letter, I will, I'm sure the princess can do all that she can to get Sweetie Belle back," Twilight stroked the grieving unicorn a few times before showing herself out.

Back at the library, Twilight sat in bed, thankful she was able to pull off her little stunt without Rarity, knowing. She could regret going against her word later, if there was a time to read someone's mind, it was then. Pulling the scroll back out, Twilight read it over to refresh what she was after for in the first place.

"So their parents died a few years ago..." Twilight mumbled to herself. However Spike, her young dragon assistant had overheard her.

"Who's parents died years ago?" He walked into the room, revealing himself, he was about the size of Twilight now, his scales noticeably lengthier from years of growth.

"Spike!" Twilight jumped, in fear of her secret being found out, "don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry Twilight, it's been boring around here, you seemed pretty worked up after coming back from Rarity's, I couldn't help but wonder why..." Spike scratched his head with a claw.

"Well... If you can keep a secret, I'll tell you," Twilight was a little hesitant about revealing the news to Spike.

"Of course Twilight!" Spike jumped in bed, trying to peek at what Twilight was reading. She pulled it away and glared at the dragon.

"I'm serious Spike, if any of this gets out, I'm sure Rarity wouldn't come out of the house again," Twilight hid the scroll in her satchel.

"So it's about Rarity?" The excitement had double, his eyes and ears were greedy for the information.

"Yes Spike, but could you put your obsessions aside for one measly minute? This is really important!" Twilight talked down to the young dragon.

"Okay, okay!" Spike groaned, growing tired of Twilight's nagging.

"...Anyways, call me oblivious, but did you know Rarity's parents died a few years ago?" Twilight asked, doubting if it was the right memory that she collected.

"No, nobody told me anything like that," Spike was instantly lost. Throughout all these years crushing on Rarity, Spike had never had the chance to meet her parents.

"Then this is the secret that Rarity didn't want to tell anypony!" Twilight concluded.

"Why would she keep it a secret?" Spike raised an eyebrow.

"Beats me... Maybe she just wanted to run away from the truth, who knows. But I do know now why Sweetie Belle lived with her all these years," Twilight put the pieces together. Sweetie Belle indeed lived with her parents before they passed away. Rarity, being the only immediate, and closest, family member, Sweetie Belle had chosen to stay with her.

"Hmm... So did you hang all those fliers yet?" Spike derailed the topic, causing Twilight's hoof to fly into her face as she realized her failure.

"Not yet Spike," She dug out the stack of papers from her satchel with her magic, "would you be willing to take half and help out?"

"...Fiiine," Spike groaned as he already had his day planned out.


	7. Liberty Belle

_Hey, be best you fillies wake up now_, a voice echoed in Sweetie Belle's head as she slowly returned from the dreamworld. _We're all in Manehatten now n' they're checkin' all the carriers_. A pair of hooves shook her, speeding up the process.

"Ugh..." Sweetie Belle found no comfort within the wooden floor and her backpack pillow. Her limbs were sore as she pulled herself up to at least a sitting position, "...We made it?" The unicorn spoke, still in a daze.

"Yessiree!" Golden Delicious smiled as Sweetie Belle wiped her eyes to get them to focus faster.

"...So how are we sneaking out?" The subject was beginning to sink into the young mare's head. Golden began to stir Cloudchaser from her sleep.

"Very carefully," he replied, Cloudchaser nearly kicked the stallion as she stretched herself out with a yawn.

"...But what do we do exactly?" The unicorn slowly pulled herself onto her hooves.

"Same way you fillies got in!" Golden answered, helping up a tired Cloudchaser.

"But won't they see us?" Sweetie Belle scratched her mane, trying to keep her balance.

"Not if they're busy unloadin' another carrier!" The stallion scooted the two ponies over to the door. Sweetie Belle Rolled her eyes at the obvious. Cloudchaser batted Golden's hoof away as she went back for hers and Sweetie Belle's backpack. "don't worry, it's an easy getaway from here!" Golden added as he began to undo the door's latches.

Cloudchaser dragged Sweetie Belle's backpack over, already wearing her own, "is it just me or does this feel like we're jumping out of an airplane?" The pegasus joked.

"Who knows, we might still be dreaming..." Sweetie Belle said dryly, too tired to join in the humor. Golden slid open the door carefully, any sounds now would probably give them away. Donning her backpack, Sweetie Belle leaned out to take a peek outside, however Golden stopped her with a hoof. Glancing at him, Golden shook his head and motioned for Sweetie Belle to back up.

Without argue, Sweetie Belle followed orders, stepping back next to Cloudchaser. The duo watched as Golden poked his head out of the door, glancing in both directions before returning inside.

"You fillies are clear to go, there's a door down the building, wide open. But I dunno what's beyond that, so y'all on yer own now. I wish both y'all good luck!"

"Thanks," Cloudchaser smiled a little as Sweetie Belle was the first to jump out, the pegasus wasted no time following. Constantly checking both way, Sweetie Belle was surprised that the place wasn't crawling around with workers. Either most were on brake or they were dealing with some important cargo... The unicorn didn't even doubt that somepony could have had an accident when unloading the frights.

_Almost there_... Sweetie Belle gritted her teeth, galloping faster towards the sunlight shining through the exit. The unicorn, with a little magical assistance, stopped on a dime at the doorway. She glanced back at Cloudchaser, who was a half way across, picking up something of the floor. _Cloudchaser! We don't have time for that_! A stressed snarl rumbled through her lips as he pulled at her mane with a hoof.

"You dropped this..." Cloudchaser spoke softly as she approached the unicorn.

"Hm?" Sweetie Belle dropped her frustration to gawk at what the pegasus carried in her hoof.

_My journal_! Her eye's shot open, appalled that the journal even flew out of her back pack. Just a day ago, she couldn't have cared less what the fate of the journal was. But this new found love for her recycled journal would flip every stone to find it. "Th-thank you Cloudchaser... Could you put it in my backpack for me?" Sweetie Belle tried to sound casual about it, but her flushed face told a different story.

"Oh, sure," Cloudchaser practically climbed the mound on the unicorn's back to place it back in. Grabbing the zipper, Cloudchaser sealed the flap shut. Their escape was shortly lived as a worker spotted them.

"You two don't belong here!" The figure galloped towards them. There was no need to tell each other to run as they already bolted out the door. Entering the alleyways, the two fillies navigated the best they could to find the open city.

"I think I know the way," Cloudchaser took the lead. Sweetie Belle wanted to object, but she knew Cloudchaser probably knew more of Manehatten than she did. Checking back on their tracks, Sweetie Belle assumed that they lost their pursuer.

"Can we slow down?" The unicorn asked, becoming out of breath. Cloudchaser took a quick glimpse back, seeing just a vacant alley behind them.

"Sure..." She slowed to a quick trot. Sweetie Belle heaved for air as she kept the pace. "We're almost there anyways." Cloudchaser added as an opening came into view. Sounds of purring engines and playing radios grew louder as they drew closer.

"...Wait a minute," Sweetie Belle halted before they got too close to the exit.

"What is it?" Cloudchaser slowed to a stop, wondering what her friend wanted this time.

"We're going straight to this Pierce guy's place right?" She asked.

"Yeah... Did you want to stop anywhere else?" Cloudchaser was a little hesitant.

"No, it's not that, it's just it's been a day since we've been gone, don't you think the public knows about it by now?" Sweetie Belle didn't want to sound paranoid, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"There's probably a chance they know," Cloudchaser shrugged, not really thinking about the matter.

"Well we should at least try to change our appearance just a bit, just so we don't attract too much attention,"

"Sweetie Belle, we're carrying our rooms on our backs, even if we did change what we looked like, we'd still draw attention," the pegasus countered.

"Just work with me here!" Sweetie Belle grew slightly irritated.

"Fine, fine, what do you have in mind..." Cloudchaser gave in, knowing it wouldn't hurt to let Sweetie Belle have this one.

"Well we can't do anything about our colors... But our manes and tails on the other hoof," the unicorn took out a bottled water with her magic, opening it.

"No way Sweetie Belle, I've put years into this mane," she took a few steps back, "there's no way you're hacking it off."

"I wasn't going to, but that spikey mane of yours is going to make it easy for ponies to spot you from the crowd," her magic summoned the water out of the bottle, directing it slowly towards the pegasus.

"What are you doing Sweetie Belle?" Cloudchaser backed up as Sweetie Belle drew closer.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to take your mane off, It's just the mane-do's gotta go!" Sweetie Belle tried to convince her friend.

"...F-fine," Cloudchaser winced and looked away, fearing her mane would be ruined forever. Her fear was slowly drained as the water seeped into her mane, feeling like she was getting a wash down at the spa. She peeked out, unable to see how weird her hair looked being overtaken by weightless water. "Just don't make me look like a clown..."

"I said don't worry," Sweetie Belle was focusing taking out the anti-gravity in the pegasus' hair.

"Ugggh, you're killing me Sweetie Belle!" Cloudchaser groaned.

"I'm almost done, geez!" The unicorn worked down the last strands of her friend's hair, "...There." Cloudchaser felt up her mane with her hoof.

"Oh my Celestia, Sweetie Belle..." She was speechless, her hair fully natural, let down and parted in between.

"Now, for your tail..." The unicorn motioned a hoof for Cloudchaser to turn around.

"How'd you learn to do all that?" She spun to the side, still amazed with her new hair style, "I've been trying for years to keep my hair down."

"Uh... I've had experience," Sweetie Belle wouldn't admit how Rarity styled her mane when there was an important event to attend to.

"Makes me wish I was a unicorn," Cloudchaser spoke as the water went through her tail.

"Heh," Sweetie Belle blushed, flattered by the compliments. The process didn't take as long as her mane did. "there, all done... At least you have a good chance of blending in now.

"Thanks," Cloudchaser examined her flattened tail, still blown away with Sweetie Belle's salon level skills with hair.

"...Now it's my turn," Sweetie Belle channeled the water into her own mane. Already familiar with it, dealing with tangles and knots was painful, but easy. She didn't need to be gentle like she was with Cloudchaser's mane. Finishing up, Sweetie Belle blew the dead hairs from her eyes.

"...You don't think it'd be suspicious that our mane styles match?" Cloudchaser mentioned as the unicorn started on her tail.

"Not really, I'd rather do this than be noticed from fliers that are probably posted all over Equestria by now," Sweetie Belle massaged the water through her tail a few times.

"You really think your sister would have done that all by now?" Cloudchaser assumed Sweetie Belle would be passed her paranoia already.

"Yes I do. You just don't know anything!" The unicorn threw the water against the wall, infuriated with her friend's lack of understanding.

Cloudchaser only stood there, dumbfounded with Sweetie Belle's anger. She continued on after a few moments of silence, "Rarity has connections to royalty, if she really wanted to, she'd have the royal guard out here by now!"

"But she didn't..." Cloudchaser tried her best not to make Sweetie Belle any more enraged than she already was.

"How do you know?" The unicorn glared, holding back any urge to hurt her friend.

"Because if the royal guard were called in, they probably would have stopped the train before it hit Manehatten!"

"What if they stopped the wrong train? How do they even know we even took a train?" Sweetie Belle argued back, "for all we know the royal guard could be posted over every city and town in Equestria!"

"Well there's only one way to find out..." Cloudchaser trotted towards the exit of the alley.

"What are you, crazy?" Sweetie Belle gave chase, ready to pull the pegasus back into cover if she decided to make a break for it. The two stood just outside the alley, not a trace of royal guard was seen. Sweetie Belle's cheeks turned red in frustrated embarrassment.

"See, there's nothing to worry about Sweetie Belle," Cloudchaser smiled, hoping the fact would calm the unicorn's fears. Sadly, Sweetie Belle was more upset with being wrong. Too flustered to speak, she kept silent. "Maybe you were were right Sweetie Belle, maybe your sister's glad you're gone," Cloudchaser proposed the idea. Chewing on her words, Sweetie Belle's emotions changed.

Not knowing what to truly believe, the unicorn let out a pent up sigh. Cloudchaser could spot her friend's trouble from a mile.

"Come on now, we got the rest of the day ahead of us," the pegasus embraced Sweetie Belle in a constricting hug. Sweetie Belle returned the gestured halfheartedly, not willing to let go of her emotions just yet.

* * *

Spike took in a breath of fresh air, even though his plans were ruined, at least today was a nice day to spend outside. Ponyvillians greeted him from time to time, offering idle chit chat as he went from streetlight to streetlight taping papers. Temptations and distractions beckoned him around every corner, but Spike knew better than to blow off Twilight's instructions. However the biggest one made it's appearance as the dragon strolled by Rarity's boutique.

At first glance, Spike thought it wouldn't hurt to stick a flier on the door. It wasn't until after that he looked back at the boutique, wondering about Rarity's well being. Even though he wasn't the best at cheering anypony up, at least he could be a crying shoulder for her... Anything to get brownie points with Rarity.

Retracing his steps to the door, the dragon pondered a few would be scenarios. Once he was sure of himself, he knocked on the door.

"Rarity, are you home?" And suddenly the thought occurred that maybe Rarity wasn't home. Spike paced around, nervousness settling in. Another thought told Spike that what if Rarity was in the middle of committing suicide? Worked up, the dragon went back to the door, pounding harder. "Rarity! It's me Spike!"

Wasting no time at all, Spike tried the door knob. Fortunately for him, Twilight forgot to lock it during her last visit. The door gave way, allowing Spike entrance. Readjusting his eyes to the poorly lit room, the dragon searched the room out for the white unicorn.

"Rarity?" Spike called out, hoping for a response. Only a sleeping snore replied. Spinning around to pin-point the source, the dragon spotted Rarity on the couch, passed out. A bottle of wine laid on the floor, still having some swigs left in it. Spike's nose wrinkled as the stale smell of the boutique finally got to him.

_Ugh, what stinks in here_? Spike held his nose, repulsed by the scent that attacked him. Not willing to investigate much, the naive dragon assumed it was the wine. Even though Spike's worries were put to rest, he began to have regrets barging in. It'd probably be days before he would be able to forget a stench like that.

Taking one huge breath, the dragon held it as he rushed to Rarity's room to retrieve her blanket. He didn't want to leave the broken pony cold, it wouldn't sit right with him if he did. Coming back from Rarity's room, Spike draped the blanket over Rarity's body. He tucked her in, leaving only her head uncovered.

Spike thought about leaning in to kiss Rarity on the forehead, but as he drew in another breath, the stale air convinced him otherwise. Muttering a quiet "Good night," Spike left the boutique.


	8. Streetie Belle

"How much longer is it?" Sweetie Belle groaned, the heat of the daylight sun scorching her into a sweaty mess.

"There's still some more blocks left to cover, if you want, we could take a break," Cloudchaser suggested.

"Gladly!" Sweetie Belle agreed, downing half of a water bottle in one go. The duo parked inside the alley way, far enough to avoid Manhattenite contact, but close enough to escape if trouble emerged from the shadows. Sweetie Belle sat down with a sigh of relief, unhooking herself from her backpack. "Feels like we've been walking forever..." The unicorn stretched out.

"I know... But we'll have to hurry before sunset, those cops are more active at night," Cloudchaser's words gave Sweetie Belle some nervous energy, but not enough to continue on.

"I'm just glad nopony spotted us yet," the unicorn finished off her water bottle with a satisfied exhale.

"That too, but I wouldn't worry about it till tonight, cops are more ornery when the sun goes down," Cloudchaser sat down with her friend.

"Kind of like werewolves?" Sweetie Belle laughed, Cloudchaser joining in.

"Kinda, only worse," Cloudchaser cracked up. For once, Sweetie Belle was enjoying herself, most of her worrying had melted away in that moment. Sweetie Belle felt compelled to record this moment in her journal. Digging through her backpack, the unicorn snatched her notebook. Unintentionally, this drew Cloudchaser's attention. "Isn't that the thing I picked up at the train station?" She asked.

"...Yeah, why?" Sweetie Belle hoped that Cloudchaser would just leave it at that.

"You looked devastated when I gave it to you, I was curious about why it was so important to you..." Cloudchaser felt awkward bringing it up, but she craved to have the knowledge.

"Because... It's my personal journal," Sweetie Belle blushed, hoping Cloudchaser's eyes would look elsewhere.

"Seriously? I wouldn't have guessed that by the colors, I sorta believed it belonged to Rarity and that you were going to blackmail her with whatever was inside it," the pegasus chuckled a bit.

"Oh trust me, I've been in my sister's diary many times before, but blackmailing doesn't work anymore when most of Ponyville knows about the dirty stuff,"

"Ouch..." Cloudchaser couldn't fight back her smile, "apparently I don't know the dirty stuff,"

"Oh, it was just about coltfriends, pregnancies, abortions, debts, and a bunch of other depressing stuff," Sweetie Belle spoke casually about it.

"Did your she ever write about you?" Cloudchaser was hooked now, and on a different subject too, Sweetie Belle was thankful for that.

"A few times, mostly with empty threats of sending me off to boarding school, boot camp, and giving me away to somepony else," the unicorn shrugged.

"Why didn't she do all that?" Cloudchaser was puzzled.

"Dunno, by that time I spent more time away from home than usual, just to get Rarity out of my mane," Sweetie Belle set her journal down, grabbing another water bottle from her backpack.

"I'd know seeing as we barely hang out at your place," the pegasus laughed a little.

"Yeah," Sweetie Belle took a few gulps of water.

"...So anything embarrassing in your little book there?" Cloudchaser joked.

"N-none of your business!" Sweetie Belle pulled the book out of Cloudchaser's sight with her magic.

"Oh come on Sweetie Belle, it can't be that bad! It's not like you were a chronic bed wetter!" The pegasus cackled. Unimaginable nighttime moments of Sweetie Belle's foalhood returned to her as her cheeks flushed harder than before. Shaking away the thoughts Sweetie Belle decided to pin the question back to the pegasus

"...So you're saying you wet the bed?" Sweetie Belle tried not to sound embarrassed.

"What filly or foal didn't back then? At least it didn't stick long with me." Sweetie Belle dodged an emotional bullet.

"Yeah, there was a certain colt who had that problem all the way up into middle school" Sweetie Belle started, "It was only made public because the other colt who slept over at the time found out about his problem, I kinda felt bad for the guy."

"Yeah, anyways, you don't have anything to worry about now," Cloudchaser tried to convince Sweetie Belle to part with her journal.

"I still don't feel comfortable letting you read this while I'm alive..." Sweetie Belle admitted.

"That's no fair!" Cloudchaser said with no serious bone in her body.

"How about this, if you're on your death bed before I am, I'll let you read it, okay?"

"Fiiiine," Cloudchaser agreed, but her curiosity wasn't put to rest. The duo sat in silence for a few moments. Sweetie Belle's mind wandered off into Cloudchaser's past, reminding herself what the pegasus went through. It was still unfathomable how she could remain to be so positive after all this time.

"...How do you do it?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Huh?" Cloudchaser was in the middle of playing with her stiletto.

"How do you remain so positive? I mean you've been beat up, ridiculed, lost your best friend, and were nearly raped... How?"

"I still have some hope, also, it was nearly rape for a reason," Cloudchaser flipped out the blade of her stiletto.

"Oh..." Sweetie Belle grew silent, thinking about if the colt survived or not.

"Yeah, it's a funny story actually, I left the sorry flankhead with a few scars. He didn't show up to school for a whole week. Almost thought he transferred schools because of it. Once he showed up next week, he didn't even have the balls to look me in the eye anymore when he passes by in the hallways."

"Whoa... He didn't try and make up some stupid story to the cops or anything did he?" The unicorn was enthralled with her friend's story.

"Nah, he wouldn't be _that_ stupid, he knew it'd all just turn against him, you can't cover up the intention of rape," Cloudchaser explained.

"Good, at least he learned his lesson," Sweetie Belle felt there was actually some justice in the world.

"...So you ready to start walking again?" The pegasus asked.

"Not yet, I wanna scribble something down first," Sweetie Belle opened up her journal. Cloudchaser couldn't help but sneak a peek as best as she could. Her attempt were defeated as Sweetie Belle caught on and turned the journal from her seeking eyes. A joking groan came from Cloudchaser's lips as she leaned back down on the wall.

Sweetie Belle's horn began to glow as she wrote out her thoughts on paper...

_Being closer to our new life, I'm thankful that the bond I have with Cloudchaser still remains strong. Ever since running away from home, I've learned so much about her that I probably wouldn't have known otherwise. Yet she still has much more to learn about my life... Or my online life really. When I told her I never had a coltfriend before... I sort of lied. I know if I tell her about it, I won't hear the end of it. There'll be so many questions that I don't want to answer._

_Maybe starting over in Manehatten can change that. If I'm lucky that is_.

Closing her journal shut, Sweetie Belle stuck it in her backpack, "let's go," she stood up, pulling her backpack back on.

"I was wondering if you'd ever take your nose out of that thing," Cloudchaser laughed as she closed her stiletto, hiding it in her backpack. The two ventured back into the heated city.


	9. The Good, The Bad, and The Belle

"Well this is the place," Cloudchaser motioned at a small building with a hoof.

"Looks pretty cozy for a two story building..." Sweetie Belle commented, gawking at the building.

"Yeah, It looks bigger on the inside," the pegasus pulled the door open, the bells rang as she held it for her friend.

"...Thanks," Sweetie Belle nodded, entering to the sound of a stallion's voice booming from the back.

"Inkie Pie could you get that one? I've got my hooves filled with a client right now," it called out.

"Sure thing Piercy," a mare answered back, soon trotting into the front room to meet the duo. Sweetie Belle didn't know what to say. She waited for Cloudchaser to say something, but she was equally speechless. "What can I do ya for?" the black colored mare asked them, eying them up. Cloudchaser soon spoke up.

"We're here to see pierce, we need to talk to him," the duo took a seat.

"He's busy right now... But I'll see what I can do," the mare could read the desperation in their eyes. She retreated to the back room as Cloudchaser and Sweetie Belle exchanged glances of uncertainty. A few moments of silence passed before a blue unicorn stallion appeared from the back, he wiped his sky colored mane aside with a hoof. Adjusting his mane left him unguarded from a hugging lunge Cloudchaser took after him, nearly toppling him over.

"Pierce! I haven't seen you in almost a year!" Cloudchaser exclaimed, almost near tears.

"Cloudchaser? Is that you? I almost didn't recognize you with that mane-due of yours!" Pierce returned her embrace, glad to see an old friend. "How've you been?"

"It's a wild story, but we kind of need a place to stay," Cloudchaser retracted, glancing back up at Pierce, who was a little confused.

"What happened?" The stallion grew concerned with the matter.

"Sweetie Belle and I kind of ran away," Cloudchaser tried to sugar coat it.

"Wait... Sweetie Belle? _The_ Sweetie Belle?" The stallion focused his attention on Sweetie Belle. The white unicorn felt a little awkward from how worked up Pierce got.

"Uh, yeah..." Sweetie Belle scratched at her mane, wondering what the big deal was.

"I'm a fan of your sister's work! How is she anyways?" Pierce asked, eager to know.

"Let's not worry about that now," Cloudchaser interrupted, "we both need a place to stay."

"...Usually I don't take in runaways, but for you fillies, I'll make an exception... On one condition," Sweetie Belle didn't like where this was going.

"What is it?" Cloudchaser didn't waste any time fooling around.

"You two help out around the shop, you know, clean off the tools, polish up the merchandise," the stallion listed.

"We can do that, no trouble at all, right Sweetie Belle?" The pegasus glanced over at her friend, expecting a nod.

"Uh, sure," Sweetie Belle was just expecting a makeover, not begging for a place to stay. Then again, this is killing two birds with one stone, why question it, she thought. "But what about our identities?" She had to add.

"Oh, um..." Cloudchaser tried to search for the words to say.

"I could fix you up with something... But that's gonna take some extra work," Pierce's generosity sounded less enthusiastic.

"We'll do it!" Cloudchaser offered, not knowing what the circumstances were.

"Do what?" Sweetie Belle glared at Cloudchaser, having no idea why she would be running her mouth off.

"Well..." Pierce thought about it for a few moments, "seeing as you'll have a new coat and mane colors, you two can go out and advertise for me. You know, pass out fliers, spin signs, all that other good stuff," Pierce's face beamed at the idea.

"Deal!" Cloudchaser nodded rapidly with a grin to match. Sweetie Belle couldn't argue with that kind of offer.

_Looks like our life's already paved for us now_, the white unicorn thought to herself, still holding some doubt about it all.

"Great! Inkie will take care of your coats and manes then, as for where you'll be sleeping, you two won't mind sharing the couch would you?" Pierce smiled sheepishly, not willing to part with his bed.

"Not at all!" Cloudchaser spoke for the both of them again. Sweetie Belle decided to throw in the towel and just let her pegasus friend do all the talking.

"Then it's settled! I'll go and tell Inkie to get the bathtub ready then," Pierce trotted into the back. Sweetie Belle's cheeks flushed as confusion poured in. No one told her a bathtub would be involved with dyeing coats.

"This is it Sweetie Belle!" Cloudchaser faced her friend, happy as could be.

"I know..." The unicorn still was unsure about staying here.

"Come on now! It won't be too bad! I'll do most of the work if I have too! I always wanted to work at a tattoo shop!" Cloudchaser was riled up with excitement.

"It's not that," Sweetie Belle started as Inkie Pie trotted towards the front, "I'll tell you later tonight," the unicorn kept her voice low as the dark earth pony entered.

"So who's first to get their coat dyed?" Inkie Pie said with a smile, raring to fulfill what her ink drop cutie mark means. Cloudchaser's hoof thrust into the air instantaneously. Relief poured into Sweetie Belle as her friend volunteered.

"Me, me, me!" The pegasus cheered as she almost began to bounce.

"You with the wings!" Inkie nodded at Cloudchaser, the gesture bring the pegasus right by her side.

"You can come along too," The earth pony spoke to Sweetie Belle, waving a hoof for her to follow.

The unicorn was silent as she slid off the chair, walking towards the dark mare carefully.

"Oh come on, I don't bite!" Inkie chuckled a little, soon guiding the duo up stairs. "So I never got your names and apparently both of you are staying with us for quite a while," Inkie eyed them up with a fake suspicion, her grin giving her away.

"I'm Cloudchaser!" The pegasus answered as Sweetie Belle remained quiet.

"Cloudchaser, I like that name," Inkie commented as they began their ascent. "What about you?" the dark mare glanced back at the unicorn.

"...Sweetie Belle," She tried not to mumble.

"Rarity's sister?" Inkie asked, having heard young unicorn mare's name before.

"Y-yes," Sweetie Belle was nervous about how famous she really was... Or at least how far her sister's fame brought her. She never tried to ride Rarity's tail into fame, but she guessed there was just no way to avoid it.

"Piercey likes to keep up to date with her fashion line, it's the only reason I know about her... Anyways, I'm Inkie Pie, I assume you know about my sister seeing as you live-"

"Lived," Cloudchaser corrected.

"Lived, in Ponyville," Inkie rolled her eyes at herself, poking fun at her own foolishness.

_She has a sister, I know I've heard 'pie' before, but where... Pie, pie, pie... Pinkie Pie! That annoying freak who's friends with my sister_! Sweetie Belle put the pieces together.

* * *

A rhythmic knock tapped upon Rarity's door. The white unicorn groaned, being awake from her sleep tore her away from her dreams.

"Who would dare wake me up at this hour," Rarity strained her eyes, searching for a clock. With ever curtain being closed and all the lights being turned off, the dimness of the room proved to be a challenge. "Uugh," Rarity grumbled as she grabbed for a pillow, placing over her head to cancel out the noise of the door.

Eventually her guest gave up with knock and tried the door. Rarity prayed that it was locked. Unfortunately for her, Spike hadn't locked the door before he left, giving Rarity's new visitor full access to the boutique.

"Surprise!" Pinkie Pie's obnoxious party voice echoed across the dark room. Rarity pretended to be asleep, maybe if the pink earth pony saw her snoozing, she would perhaps give up and go home. But that wasn't the case as Pinkie Pie searched Rarity out and greeted her with an extending party kazoo, just far enough to tickle a sneeze out of the what unicorn.

There was no escaping this one, Rarity's cover was blow, now she had to deal with Pinkie Pie whether she liked it or not.

"Good morning Rarity!" Pinkie cheered, "Or good afternoon is more like it, but it doesn't matter really!"

"Pinkie Pie, I'm trying to get my sleep..." Rarity grunted between gritted teeth, trying to hold back her anger.

"You've been asleep practically all day silly!" The pink earth pony commented, "you should have started your day already!"

"I don't wish to start my day right now," Rarity hid her face behind a pillow, away from Pinkie's eyes.

"Oh come on Rarity! Today won't be so bad!" Pinkie Pie tore the sheets off the sofa, exposing Rarity's body to the cold room. The unicorn only replied with a cold shiver. She longed for her warm sheets as her body shook violently. Pinkie Pie instantly noticed her dilemma... And her pungent mess that soaked the cushions.

_That poor pony didn't even get up to use the potty_, Pinkie Pie frowned, knowing she was going to need some help with this one.

"Just go away, Pinkie Pie," Rarity wasn't in the mood for her shenanigans. Pinkie Pie's smile came back as she put the ideas together in her head.

"How about I'll get a nice warm bubble bath ready for you?" The pink pony offered, willing to do it anyway if she refused. Rarity groaned in response as Pinkie left to fill up the bath tub.

With Pinkie Pie out of the room, Rarity actually had some space to think, and instantly her thoughts reminded her why she was sad in the first place. The unicorn buried her face further into her pillow in a desperate effort to escape them. The metallic squeak of a knob being turned caused Rarity's ears to draw back a bit. The sound of running water wasn't too far behind either... At least it was relaxing to listen too.

Time seemed to pass by as Rarity let herself relax to the sound of the bath being drawn up. Before she knew it the water stopped flowing and Pinkie Pie was already by her side.

"Up and at 'em sleepyhead!" The pink pony pulled Rarity to her hooves by her front hooves. The unicorn fought Pinkies attempt, but her undernourished body didn't have the strength to stand her ground. It didn't take long before Rarity lost the fight, practically letting Pinkie Pie drag her to the bathtub.

Being led to the tub, Rarity gawked at the bath. It's mountain of bubbles had intimidated the poor unicorn. She didn't fight as Pinkie Pie helped her inside. The water's warmth soothed Rarity's body in all the right places and for a moment, her troubles slipped away...

"You just sit right here and have some fun while I go clean up the blankets!" Pinkie Pie smiled at Rarity who closed her eyes, tuning out the pink earth pony. Pinkie Pie hopped off, not bothering to close the door behind her. Rarity didn't notice, she refused to open her eyes as she leaned back a bit. Her head remained above the water as she slowly began to let herself sink. Before the water ran above her snout, the unicorn took a deep breath before letting the rest of herself fall in.

She sat there for a few moments, the idea of drowning herself bouncing back and forth in her head. It felt so right, with both of her parents deceased, and her sister gone and missing, what other motivation was left to drive her? Her friends were all pretty busy with their lives as well, only able to spare a moment with her when she absolutely needed their help. And she needed their help very often having to cope with Sweetie Belles antics, which proved to make all the get-togethers very informal, leaving little room to actually have fun.

Rarity exhaled a little, air bubbles sounded off as they rolled up to the surface. She couldn't hold her breath for much longer.

"Rarity?" A suppressed call rang through the water... Rarity questioned if she was crossing over, "where'd you go?" the voice answered again. The unicorn didn't want to waste her breath with words, her lungs were already starting to burn.

"Rarity!" It shouted this time as Rarity could feel another entity diving into the water. A pair of hooves grasped the unicorn's waist. The touch shook her from her daydreaming. Her eyes opened inside the soapy water as she accidentally inhaled some of it. The hooves brought Rarity's top half out of the water swiftly, with no concern of splashing water everywhere. Pinkie's hooves were still wrapped tight around the unicorn, not willing to let go.

"You know you can't breathe underwater!" A startled Pinkie Pie reminded Rarity, who was already coughing up a storm.

Rarity would have smacked Pinkie Pie across the face if she weren't hacking up what she took in. But she couldn't afford to get in trouble like that, at least while living. Once the water was out of her lungs, the unicorn gave her excuse on her attempted suicide.

"...I, I was a little tired, t-the water was so warm and soothing, I just thought it wouldn't hurt to close my eyes!" Rarity feigned her panic, hoping she was convincing.

"Oh Rarity, I'm just glad I came to check in on you in time!" Pinkie cried, releasing her friend from her embrace, "Don't do that to me ever again, okay?" Rarity was heartbroken to see Pinkie Pie all worked up over this. Maybe she did care for her after all. But it didn't fill the hole Sweetie Belle made in Rarity's heart.

"O-okay," Rarity replied hesitantly, unsure if she was able to withhold herself from trying it again if she had the chance.

"Pinkie Promise?" The pink pony proposed, trying her best to smile beyond the tears.

"...Pinkie Promise," Rarity sighed, as she crossed her chest then eye with a hoof. She knew she'd probably break it along the way, but it didn't matter right now as long as she told Pinkie what she wanted to hear.

"Thank you," Pinkie Pie's smile grew larger as she found reassurance in her friend's words. "How about we get you ready for the rest of the evening then?" Pinkie asked, helping Rarity out of the shower.

Rarity only nodded, hoping she would be going right to bed.

* * *

Inkie Pie pulled the bathtub lever, filling up the tub, "How you like your water Cloudchaser?"

"I'd rather have it too warm than too cold," the pegasus chuckled.

"I'll try my best," Inkie gave no promises as she twisted the knob that decided the temperature, "While the tub's filling up, we can go pick out your new coat color," The dark pony waved the pegasus over.

"Oh gosh! The moment of truth! I don't think I've decided yet!"

"That's alright, you've got time," She glanced over to the unicorn, "You wanna watch the water for us Sweetie Belle?"

"Sure," it gave Sweetie Belle some time to contemplate her new conditions.

"Great, just turn off the water when it's a little over halfway," Inkie informed, leading Cloudchaser out of the bathroom.

"Gotcha..." The unicorn sighed once the others left the room.


	10. You Can't Un-ring a Belle

**Chapter 10: You can't un-ring a Belle**

The bathtub was taking forever to fill up. Sweetie Belle took the opportunity to snoop around the house to ease the suspicion she held against both Pierce and Inkie. Before leaving, she slowed the running water a bit to buy some more time.

Poking her head out the door, she made sure the place was clear of anypony who might spot her. _They're probably downstairs, seeing as that's where all the materials are I suppose..._Sweetie Belle assumed as she kept light on her hooves. She maneuvered though the hallway, checking the last room down the hall. Her hoof shook with indecision, she knew it was wrong to snoop...

_Well it's not like I'm stealing anything__,_ Sweetie Belle convinced herself that her intentions meant well. The unicorn turned the knob cautiously, unsure what was awaiting her on the other side. A soft creak gave from the door as she slowly guided the door open.

Her nose scrunched up as she inhaled some new scents that were unknown to her before. _Dear Celestia, what's been going on here?_ She thought as she eyed up the bedroom with squinted eyes. The bed was slightly unkempt and some stains were visible if you examined it long enough. The dressers were ridden with packs and cartons of cigarettes, an assortment of different alcohols, and even a glass tube for smoking-

Sweetie Belle shut the door swiftly, pretending she didn't see anything. Her heart raced, t_hat stuff's illegal, I just hope Cloudchaser doesn't find out... I know she's no snitch, but I know she's going to want that stuff. And we've already had arguments about her abusing the stuff before..._

In a rush, Sweetie Belle paced frantically back into the bathroom. Unfortunately for her, the water was already past it's limit, the excess pouring off to the side, creating a puddle that was growing out of proportion.

"Oh buck!" Sweetie Belle cussed, galloping towards the tub. Her approach was foiled as her hooves weren't ready for the puddles below. The unicorn took a one way trip into the tub, splashing more water across the room. After emerging from the tub, Sweetie Belle hacked up the water that was accidentally sucked into her lungs.

"Buckin' hay..." The unicorn sat in the tub, wondering how she was gonna explain this one. The sound of hoof steps trailed up the stairs, Sweetie Belle knew she didn't have much time to think up an excuse to this one.

"Is everything okay up there?" Inkie Pie's voice echoed into the bathroom. Sweetie Belle decided to stay silent, still using the time to figure out a way out of this.

The hoof steps grew closer until Inkie and Cloudchaser stood at the door.

"Well what happened here?" Inkie tried to speak between suppressed chortles. Cloudchaser scowled instead, not seeing what could be so funny about this.

"Come on Sweetie Belle! I called dibs first, what is this?" She drew closer to Sweetie Belle, only to turn off the running water.

"I... I was a little tired," Sweetie Belle replied between a few fake coughs, "the sound of the bathtub filling up was a little too hypnotic for me I guess," the unicorn's whole head was practically glowing red from embarrassment.

"How about we get you dried off and you can take a nap on the couch?" Inkie Pie held out a hoof towards Sweetie Belle.

"Sure," even though the unicorn wasn't tired at all, she played along. She let Inkie help her out of the tub without too much hassle. Water dripped from her sleek coat, adding to the massive puddle below.

"Grab some towels for me," Inkie Pie directed Cloudchaser to the cabinet nearby, "the more hooves I got helping me, the faster this gets done."

"Alright..." Cloudchaser sighed, not content with the delay. The pegasus passed a hoof full of folded towels to the earth pony, who in turn started flinging them across the soaking unicorn. Instinctively, Sweetie Belle began to dry herself off with the towels given to her. She started with her mane and ended with her tail. Some unicorn magic made quick work of the task.

Cloudchaser and Inkie worked tirelessly with the mess on the floor. Seeing them hard at work, Sweetie Belle offered her unicorn assistance, speeding up the process.

"Thanks, Sweetie," Inkie Pie nodded as she rolled up all the towels into one big pile.

"...I'm really sorry about the mess," Sweetie Belle couldn't apologize enough.

"Don't be, as long as it happened _before_ the dye was put in... Otherwise there would be a problem," the earth pony explained, giving a slight glare at the unicorn, giving her a taste of what would happen if such a situation took place.

"Okay..." Sweetie Belle faked a yawn as Inkie guided her out of the bathroom with a hoof. Inkie led the unicorn to the couch, offering her a seat.

"Both of you will be sleeping here for the night, I know it's not much but you'll have to make the best of it with Cloudchaser," the earth pony dug out some pillows and blankets from the side of the couch, tossing them to Sweetie Belle, "don't worry, they're clean!" The earth pony assured.

Making sure, Sweetie Belle put the blanket to her nose and took in the scent. Flowers and sugary spice invaded her nostrils as she registered the fresh scent of fabric fresh out of the laundry. This exceeded her expectations, assuming it would be a single step up from the smells the bedroom horded.

"This smells amazing! What detergent do you guys use?" Sweetie Belle asked, her nose still buried in the blanket.

"Oh, we change it up each time. I think we're using a home made brand now. Piercey bought it during a street market a few weeks ago," Inkie did her best to recall.

"That's a first that I heard of a stallion buying detergent before..." _Then again I haven't lived with a stallion in awhile now..._ Sweetie Belle tried to fathom the image.

"Oh, Piercey does most of the shopping for the house and shop... Speaking of the shop, I better get back to Cloudchaser before she falls asleep too!" Inkie joked, laughing lightly as she trotted back to the bathroom.

The unicorn readied the bed, splitting the pillows between her and Cloudchaser. Covering up with the blanket and resting her head, Sweetie Belle checked the length of the couch to see if there would be leg room. Her hind hooves were almost touching Cloudchaser's pillows, this set up wouldn't work at all. Having somepony's hind hooves in her face would make the poor unicorn gag.

Crawling out from the blankets and sheets, Sweetie Belle pulled the table in front of the couch closer, she had no idea if Inkie or Pierce would be okay with it, but she didn't care.

_This table doesn't have anything on it, plus it's seen better days, I'm sure they won't mind_. Sweetie Belle assured herself, placing one of her pillows where her hind hooves would be laying on the table. After setting her bed up, Sweetie Belle struggled to get comfortable. A few moments of fidgeting around, the unicorn found the perfect groove to sleep in.

Another yawn escaped Sweetie Belle's mouth, however this one was real. _Maybe I am pretty tired..._ The unicorn didn't fight it as she dug her head deeper into her pillow, thankful she didn't have to sleep on her backpack anymore. The unicorn peeked an eye open, making sure her backpack was still by the stairs were she left it.

_Yep still there... And Cloudchaser's too..._ Sweetie Belle rested assured that nopony messed with their belongings. Closing her eyes, the unicorn let sleep slowly over take her.

Within minutes, Sweetie Belle found herself back in middle school. The class' homeroom teacher was passing out fliers for the annual talent show. As the unicorn got one, she stared off into the sheet of paper.

_I haven't done one of these since... Since I was still friends with Scootaloo and Applebloom_, Sweetie sighed, placing her head down on her fore-hooves. What was the point of entering the talent show alone? Being the only one on stage would kill her, especially with all those ponies watching. Maybe she could convince Rarity to perform with her?

_Nah, all she wants to do anymore is make dresses and date stallions, there's no more time for 'silly, uncouth stuff'_, the unicorn needed to rethink her plan. There had to be somepony... Pinkie Pie?

_No... She'd end up stealing the show all for herself... Probably with some stupid song too to boot_, Sweetie became frustrated, None of Rarity's friends could help her.

_Fluttershy? Too quiet. Twilight, Too boring. Applejack, also boring. And Rainbow Dash is a limelight hog... _Her options were running out. Maybe a reunion with the Cutie Mark Crusaders was in store?

_Pffft, like they'd have time for a talent show..._ _Applebloom's been working day and night on the farm when she's not in school, and Scootaloo uses all her freetime for practicing more on her scooter. _Sweetie Belle crossed her arms with a grunt, drawing brief attention to herself.

"Maybe I should just forget the talent show..." She mumbled to herself, crumpling up the piece of paper.

During lunchtime Sweetie Belle sat by herself, as always. Her dull eyes were fixated on her lunch tray as her magic gripped onto the plastic fork, stirring up her food needlessly. It seemed like another ordinary lunch day until she was greeted by a young silver coated pegasus.

"Hey, my sister told me you sing pretty good," he took a seat right across from the unicorn, stroking a hoof across his already slicked back, gray mane.

"Huh?" Was the first reaction Sweetie Belle could muster up.

"You're Sweetie Belle right?" The colt began to have some doubts, wondering if he was talking to the wrong filly. Nodding hesitantly, Sweetie Belle didn't know what this colt was trying to get at. "Great! Me and my sister are looking for a singer for the talent show, aaand... We were kinda wondering if you'd like to help us out?"

The unicorn was speechless for a moment, the idea of an opportunity coming out of nowhere stunned the filly.

"...You okay?" The colt asked again, wondering why Sweetie Belle was unresponsive.

"Y-yes!" She snapped back into the conversation, "I-, I wouldn't mind... I was kind of looking for somepony to help me out with the talent show too..." The filly blushed with a small guilty smile.

"That works for both of us then! I guess we have a deal," The young colt leaned over the lunch table to shake Sweetie's hoof in agreement. Once again she was surprised by how direct this colt was.

"Uh, sure," the unicorn scratched her mane with the hoof that was shaken, unable to say anything else.

"Anyways," the colt sat back down, "my name's Rumble, and my sister's name is Tornado. We were going to have band practice right after school... I know this is short notice for you, but your parents won't mind right?"

Rumble wasn't informed of the bad news. It's already been a couple of years since both her parent's passing. And with both of them gone, Rarity's been overly protective of her little sister. Sweetie Belle was sure Rarity wouldn't let her do this.

"N-no, not at all," The unicorn gave a cheesy grin, trying to hide the guilt growing inside her.

"Sounds good! we'll meet at this table after school, alright?" Rumble suggested.

"Yeah, I can do that..."

As students were released at the end of the day, Sweetie Belle had been sitting patiently at the same lunch table. She sighed as she thought the pegasus colt stood her up.

_He couldn't forget about me already? I mean we spent the whole time in lunch together... Maybe his mom or dad didn't let him have a friend over... Or maybe he's just in detention for Celestia knows what... Maybe..._

"Hey! Sweetie Belle!" Rumbles voice called out from across the lunchroom, "...sorry about the wait," Sweetie Belle looked up to see Rumble approaching with a young pegasus filly. "I had to wait for Tornado to pack up..." He gave the equally silver coated filly a nudge in the ribs.

"Oh stop it!" She scowled, "I've got more homework than you cause I'm a grade higher than you!" she fought back with bragging.

"Anyways..."Rumble began to change the topic, "this is Tornado, I'm sure you met right?"

"N-...No," the unicorn tried to remember who the pegasus filly was, but her mind was drawing a blank.

"Uh... Oh, okay," Rumble was speechless, wondering if he was informed of the wrong information.

"Rumble!" Tornado began, "I never said I knew her personally! I told you I've heard her sing before!" Rumble wanted to retaliate, but had second thoughts. It wasn't the appropriate time to start an argument, especially in front of their new friend.

"R-really?" Sweetie Belle wondered how Tornado could have overheard her singing. She recalled joining the school choir once she hit middle school, only because Rarity had pushed her into it. Even being in the choir, Sweetie Belle didn't allow herself to shine. Standing in clear view of the crowd, the unicorn's voice became consumed by the mass synchronization of her classmates' singing. It just wasn't the same as singing with the rest of the crusaders. There wasn't any passion, excitement, or friendship. If it wasn't for Rarity showing up at all the choir shows, Sweetie Belle would have certainly quit.

"Yeah!" Tornado replied with a grin on her face, "it was one day after school, when mostly everypony had left. I was walking down the hall when I heard somepony singing, from inside one of the classrooms. My curiosity got the better of me and I peeked in, only for a little bit! And I saw it was you!"

"Y-you sure it was me?" The unicorn kept the idea that the duo had the wrong pony in mind.

"Of course!" Tornado nodded with much enthusiasm, "curly mane and white coat! That's Sweetie Belle alright!" It looked like there was no unconvincing Sweetie Belle could do to elude her way out of this one, Tornado's description had fit the bill close enough.

"I guess it _was_ me..." The unicorn presented an awkward grin.

"Anyways," Rumble popped back into the conversation, "our mom's probably waiting for us, we should get going!" The colt trotted for the exit, looking back to see the two fillies following in pursuit.

Sweetie Belle felt awkward watching both Rumble and Tornado set up their instruments in the garage, knowing she didn't have any singing equipment.

"So... I don't have a microphone..." The unicorn was nervous, knowing it was well to late to bring that up now.

"No problem!" Rumble replied, "we got one stuck away somewhere around here..." the pegasus colt set his guitar down and went to find a microphone and stand.

"Seriously?" Sweetie was in disbelief, seemed like whatever force of nature dragged her into this really wanted her to stick with it. "I thought you only had a guitar and drum kit?" The unicorn scratched at her mane.

"Yeah," Tornado nodded, "but we fooled around with a microphone for awhile too, found out both of us can't really sing that well anyways... So it just collects dust somewhere now," she shrugged, not fond of the story behind the microphone.

"Oh, alright," Sweetie Belle acknowledged, not questioning their answer.

The unicorn's gaze bounced back and forth between Rumble, who was searching for the microphone, and Tornado, who was setting up the drum stands and making sure each tom and snare were in tune. It seemed like the moment was stuck in time as Sweetie Belle let out a long yawn.

"Found it!" Rumble tugged on some cables, hoping the microphone would pull itself loose from the mass chaos that was piled on the shelves. The pegasus colt grunted as he tugged with all strength he had.

"Don't give yourself a stroke now..." Tornado snickered as she poked fun at her brother.

"Oh shut up! I bet you couldn't get it out either if you tried!" Rumble scowled back, giving in to his sister's provoking.

"Stop it! Both of you!" Sweetie Belle played the mediator as she trotted up to the mess of cords on the shelves.

The pegasus duo stood in silence as they watched the unicorn work her magic. In a matter of seconds the knotted mess of cords were untangled and wrapped neatly into a spiral pile.

"How did you..." Rumble was stunned in awe.

"I've cleaned up my sister's designing room a few times before, so dealing with knots comes with the experience," Sweetie Belle was grinning ear to ear, feeling accomplished.

"Heh heh, hey Rumble, maybe you should pay her to clean your room!" Tornado took another stab at her brother.

"Oh shut up," he muttered, rolling his eyes.

"So... What do I hook this up into?" The unicorn lifted the microphone and cord with her magic.

"Oh!" Rumbled snapped back from his anger, "I've got a spare amp right here!" He bit into the handle of a small amp, dragging it over towards Sweetie Belle.

"Thanks," the unicorn smiled, soon wondering which input the microphone was supposed to go into. Rumble made things easier for Sweetie Belle as he snagged the cord from her magical grip and stuck the output into one of the holes.

"You're welcome!" The pegasus colt finished, tossing over the microphone with his mouth. Sweetie Belle cleared her throat before speaking into the microphone.

"Check, one-two, one-two," Her voice wasn't amplified one bit.

"You forgot to turn it on," Rumble pointed out as he flicked the switch to the amp, causing it to click audibly. "Try it now," the pegasus picked up his guitar, waiting for Sweetie Belle to test out the microphone.

"Check-check, Oh!" The sound was much more boisterous now.

"Don't worry about it, it's gonna get loud," Rumble played a short riff on his guitar. "You ready?" He asked the unicorn.

"I... I guess," Sweetie Belle felt a little out of place with how distorted the guitar sounded.

"You might remember this one, me and my sis covered this one by ear pretty much," the pegasus colt grinned from ear to ear, "give us a beat!" Rumbled nodded at Tornado who clacked her drumsticks together four times before they both jumped into the song.

Sweetie Belle had to try hard to keep her composure from how loud their sound was. Listening closer to the melody, she eventually figured out what the song was.

"...That was our song..." The unicorn mumbled under her breath. It was the crusader's theme song. She felt violated that the duo would go as far as to steal that song. The fact that the guitar work was a bit sloppy didn't help either.

The two pegasi kept playing, waiting for their friend to jump in with the vocals. However they stopped when they realized Sweetie Belle was taking too long to play her part.

"You alright?" Rumble asked "...Don't tell me you forgot what song this is!"

"N-no, it's not that..." The unicorn sighed, not looking either of the pegasi in the eye, "It's just personal, that's all."

"Oh..." The pegasus colt was speechless, unable to relate with his friend.

"Y'know," Tornado started, "maybe it's time for a break," she waited until Rumbled faced her before she nudged her head towards Sweetie Belle.

"Uh yeah! A break would be nice right about now! We got snacks inside if you're hungry!" Rumble placed his guitar down by his amp and headed for the door.

"Sure..." Sweetie Belle set the microphone down and followed the two inside the house

The dream ended as soon as she entered the door. Sweetie Belle blinked her eyes open, it felt nice to wake up naturally as well as comfortably. Indoor lights replaced the brightness of the sun, which had set about an hour ago.

"Boo!" Out of no where a random mare pounced on Sweetie Belle who nearly wet herself from the surprise.

"Dear Celestia!" She almost buried herself in the cushions from the red, curly maned pegasus. Was this another relative or friend of Pierce's or Inkie's that she hadn't heard about?

"Calm down Sweetie Belle," The voice of the white coated mare sounded familiar, "it's just me, Cloudchaser!"

"C-Cloudchaser?" The unicorn squinted her eyes, wondering if she was still half asleep.

"Yeah, I got everything dyed, remember?" She stepped off of the couch.

"...Oh... My dreams kinda made me forget," Sweetie Belle sat up.

"Hm? What were you dreaming about?" Cloudchaser asked, curious of what Sweetie Belle's mind conjured up.

"N-nothing important," the unicorn tried to brush it off as no big deal.

"Well, okay then..." Cloudchaser tried not to look disappointed, "anyways, Inkie is waiting for you in the bathroom," she pointed towards the hallway.

"Okay, thanks," Sweetie scooted off of the couch and onto her hooves.

"Good luck!" The pegasus cheered as she watched her friend trot towards the bathroom.


End file.
